I've heard that Love By Chance was the most popular BL series of 2018, so I had to watch it. I've also heard a lot of mixed reviews (with several people listing it as their least favourite BL), so I wanted to see for myself how I would like the series. This is my second Studio Wabi Sabi production after Until We Meet Again.

And OMG! This series really hit the ground running. In the first episode, there is an encounter with a possible future love, a blackmailing to out someone and a coming out. And that future love is Ae, who is sooo cute and kind! He is literally the perfect boyfriend! Pete is so lucky to have met him! I wish that an Ae will come into my life, someone to take care of me. Though I do feel like their love for one another is a bit quick and sudden though. I understand Pete falling for Ae as he is kind and protects him. But I don't really understand Ae's love for Pete. Yes, Ae wants to protect Pete because Pete is fragile, but why does he feel this need, this urge to protect Pete? Is it because he is a good human being? Does it stem from some childhood trauma?

Engaging and full of sweet, tender moments. Ae and Pete have the sweetest, cutest, most romantic scenes out of all the BL couples that I've seen thus far without a doubt! The portrayal of first love, the fears of intimacy, of jealousy and other qualms of love were quite nicely done.

Though Ae's friend, Pond, is a jerk (at first) but he redeems himself as a supportive friend. And wtf is with that Trump dude? His actions don't make any sense at all! Why is he so obsessed with getting money from Pete? If he's that obsessed with money, why not get it from an easier source, especially since he doesn't have anymore leverage on Pete? And why doesn't Pete want to report Trump? Because he doesn't want his mother to worry about him? What kind of BS excuse is that? Wouldn't she worry when she sees his bruises and sees that he is in pain anyway. Anyways, the Trump storyline kinda just disappeared into thin air and was never resolved unfortunately.

I love Pete and Ae's relationship, which is very sweet and cute, like watching first love blossoming. Seeing them experience so many firsts together. However, there isn't any friction or conflict between them (until Ae started getting easily irritated towards the end for some reason). Although I do love Pete & Ae, I found myself much more invested in Tin and Can's relationship due to their rich backstory and the dynamic tension/friction between them. which is the complete opposite of Pete & Ae's relationship. How it took so much courage for Tin to open his heart to Can to only have it shut down. My heart broke! When Tin kissed Can, my heart was FULL! I and many other are so f*cking furious at the end of Tin and Can. Luckily, probably through the huge demand for justice for Tin and Can, there will be a sequel where they will be the leads! YAY!!!!!!

On a side note, the subplots with Tar and Tum is completely unnecessary and served literally no purpose at all other than increasing the runtime of the series. The subplot of Techno's brother (Technic) helping to give his friend (Kengkla) a chance to rape No is disgusting, weird and creepy. Both subplots are completely out-of-place in this series. Yes, I know that including these subplots serve as a lead-in to Tharntype, so that people who watch Love By Chance will want to watch Tharntype, but still. These two nonsensical subplots completely cheapened the series and damaged an otherwise wholesome series.

It is interesting though. Love By Chance was the biggest BL in 2018 and Tharntype was the biggest BL in 2019. That's impressive for the author of the BL novels that both of these series are based on. And there will be sequels for each series too! I wonder if LBC 2 and Tharntype 2 will be the biggest BL's of their years...